Improvement in apparatus for transmitting power by the medium of air



t'trd gieten @sind @Mira HORACE CALL, orv CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, Assicuonrro HIMSELEAND J. E. RAND, or sAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 93,964, lated August 24, 1869.

IIVIPROVEMENT IN' APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING- POWER BY THE MEDIUM OF AIR.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part cf the same.

Know ull man by these presents: v

That I, HORACE CALL, of Concord, county of Merrimack, and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and useful Process for Transmitting and Applying Power; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specification, and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, of which- Figure l is a perspective view of the apparatus for receiving and applying the power, which consists of a tank, containing a water-wheel, with a pipe leading into the tank from the top, which is to discharge air into the water, under the floats or buckets aixed to the wheel bn its inverted side.

Figure 2 is a view of the wheel separate from the tank and that portion of the pipe which conducts the air into the tank, which is shaped, at its terminus, so as to be parallel with the buckets attached to the wheel, and having several holes, from which the air may be discharged, that all parts of the bucket r eceivin g the air may be tilled at the same time, as shown by letter A.

The nature of my invention consists in transmitting power fromA one point or locality to another, and applying the same, which is accomplished by means of forcingair through a pipe, from the point or place where the power is generated, to'any desired place in an adjacent town oreity, orto several'points at once, by using one main pipe, having branches leading to different points.

In carrying out my invention, I extend a pipe from the starting-point to its place of destination, and, if

, the power is taken from a water-wheel, 'I drive, with the wheeha force-pump of suliicient magnitude `to consume that portion, or the whole of the power,

Iwhich the wheel is capable of yielding, 'or that .portion of it which I desire to make use of, and by means ofthe pump, I force the air through the pipe, which is to be of sufficient size to receive and convey it to tlie place where I desire to use the power, extending the pipe inte a tank, as shown by tig. l,at letter B.

Therpipe to convey theair may be made of lead or iron, oran'y other metal or substance'that will not allow the air to escape whilst passing through it. The' tank may be made ot' wood or iron, or-a cemented. pit in the ground under the building, and should be made large enough to contain a wheelof suicient size to receive the. power transmitted, or that portion of it which I desire to make use -of at that point.

The wheel I use is similar in shape to an overshot water-wheel, and may be made of wood or iron, or part of each material, as may be found most conven ient; but if made of wood, the inside of the wheel should be filled with water, and a sufticient weight.`

should also be attached tothe wheel, in addition to the weight of water inside of it, and'in such a manner as to balance' it, that the wheel. when fully immersed in water, will have no more inclination to sink, if left free to do so, than it would to rise to the surface, and when fully balanced, it can be moved very easily, when confined in its bearings..

If the wheel is made of iron, it may be balanced by making a circular-,partition around-the centre of the inside of-the wheel, of sufiicient dimensions, which, when filled with water, and the space between the outside of the circular partition andthe inside of the rim of the wheel filled with air, so as to fully balance the wheel when under water, would avoid any dit'- culty arising from the swashing ofthe water inside of the wheel, if there were no partition, and it were but partly filled with water.

The wheel that is to receive the air in the tank will work with less friction if it is fully covered with water. And the pipe leading into the tank, over its top, is to be so placed, that the air discharged from it shall escape near the bottom of the tank, a little in front of the centre of the wheel, on itsinverted side, and by well-known laws the air rises in the water nearly perpendicular, and will enter the buckets atiixed to the wheel, immediately displacing the water in the buckets and filling them with air, which will pr ess up and turn the wheel, and in its: revolutions, will allow the air to escape from the buckets as each one re' volves to the top of the wheel, and as soon as the air escapes, the.' bucket is immediately lled with water again, which willkeep the wheel constantly balanced. The .air which displaees the water from the buckets will press up about asmuch as the water would weigh which the air displaces, and wi1l,'in this way, furnish .about the same amount of power as the same'water would if it were applied on the other side of the wheel,

in themanner'in which overshot-wheels are driven by water. through the tank, on the` end of which is placed a .gear or pulley, C, from which, -by means of a belt,

machinery is driven.

To prevent water from escaping from the tank where the shaft passes through it, I use a common packing-box, known to mechanics, as shown by letter I).

The power transmitted may be obtained from water,

more chains or endless belts, passing over one pulley, stationed at. the bottom of the tank, and one at the.

top, with inverted buckets aixed to them, which, in their revolutions, will receive and discharge the air.

Much valuable power can be obtained from our i 'lhe shaft through the wheel also extends Y streams and rivers, adjacent to cities and large towns, which, from their location, are comparatively valueless, but by this process, the power that may be obtained from them, can be transmitted through one or more main pipes,'by one or more force-pumps, and, by usingbraneh-ppes, can be carriedto different workshops, though they may be located at elevated points from where the power is `transmitted.

I do notclaim that all the power obtained at the starting-point can be transmitted without some loss -by ction and otherwise, but I am satisfied a large portion. of it can'be, and the amount of loss sustained will not be large enough to materially impair the value of the process.

I am aware of the construction of wet gas-meters, in which the object is, of course, to measure an aeriform fluid, which enters at the axis and lls the concavity of curved partitions, extending from the axis to the periphery. lhat the pressure upon the aeriform fiuids shall be light, is one of the conditions of the usefulness of these meteis', as a heavy pressure would cause the loss of much gas and great annoyance therefrom, andV the gas is, hence,A introduced but an inch, more or less, below the surface of the-water. Neither loss nor annoyance can occur from the escape of air,

.that'the air shall be delivered so low as to enter the buckets at a position nearly vertical to the axes, or corresponding to the point of its departure above.

I, therefore, claim the combination and arrangement of a 'Wheel,A, having curved or inclined buckets ou its periphery, with an enclosing-case, B, and an air-supplying tube E, descending to or entering near its lower part when in position, said wheel having suitable attachments for connecting it with other machinery it is to operate, all"'substantially as shown and described. p

HORACE GALL, [1.. s.]

Witnesses:

LUTHER ROBY, J. E. LANG. 

